SoFi Bank Review: Is This Modern Banking Option Worth Trying Out?

SoFi started as a loan refinancing firm for students but, over time, started offering an entire suite of financial products, including cryptocurrencies.

But the real question here is — should you consider and even onboard the SoFi Bank in 2023? Well, if you are still on the fence, this detailed SoFi Bank review should help you make an informed decision.

Pros and Cons

If you want to decide quickly whether to onboard SoFi Bank or not, here is a quick list of pros and cons to consider:

Pros

• A comprehensive set of financial instruments
• Member benefits
• User-friendly interface
• Competitive fee structure
• High-interest rate on savings

Cons

• Mostly online with limited physical presence
• Can be underwhelming for seasoned investors

SoFi Bank: Pros and cons

SoFi was one of the few financial platforms to offer social, personal loans to users based on their employment and education history.

History and Background

This financial platform came to the fore in 2011, focusing on providing student loans. Stanford students ideated and led the company to connect alumni investors to borrowers. Over time, the service sets grew, and now, it has transformed into a finance-driven social network.

SoFi Bank history 

One element of SoFi’s illustrious history is its banking license via the Golden Pacific Bancorp acquisition. This is the reason why, in 2023, SoFi Bank can offer PDIC-insured accounts to its users.

Creating an Account on SoFi: Seamless or Tricky?

Already interested in SoFi Bank? If yes, here is how you can get started. To start, you must feed your basic details and tick the “I Agree” box. Once done, SoFi brings a set of products for you to look at.

However, you can simply choose the “Open an account” option and select the one that you want to explore. The choices include a banking account, an investing account, and more. For instance, I have selected the banking account, and now, I can open an individual or joint account.

Once you choose the best option, the next step would involve identity and address verification. Notably, SoFi accepts the following documents for validating credentials:

1. W-2 forms or tax returns for income verification
2. Passport, state ID, or even a valid driver’s license for identity verification
3. Lease agreements, bank statements, and utility bills for address verification

SoFi’s support setup indicates that it might take a user anywhere between 3 to 10 days to get the account approved.

Besides adhering to international KYC standards, SoFi also integrates features like biometric checks to enhance the security posture of the signup process.

All SoFi Bank Platforms Explored

It is worth noting that to use SoFi, you can rely on a host of interfaces — the web, the Android app, and the iOS app. Here are the traits of each platform:

SoFi Bank desktop interface

•  Access to large trading and investing screens
• Ideal for detailed financial management
• Access to several visual tools
• Reflects the banking capabilities quite clearly.

SoFi Bank Android app

• User-friendly platform
• Access to two-factor authentication
• Access to fraud alerts
• The ability to set up alerts related to balances, check deposits, and more
• Supports quick money transfers
• Allows ATM location

SoFi Bank iOS app

• One-stop banking app for iPhones and iPads
• Introduces self-service options
• Access to savings tools
• Supports online bill payment

While the desktop interface is good for looking through every nitty-gritty of investment and trading, mobile apps are more about the one-touch convenience. Also, the iOS app is rated 4.8 out of 5, further validating the app-based choices.

Features, Products, and Offerings

As mentioned previously, SoFi offers a wholesome selection of financial products. These include the following:

Access to a Wide Range of Loans

SoFi boasts a sizable collection of loans, including personal loans for credit consolidation, travel, and more, student loans, mortgage loans, private loans for students, auto loans, and more. It is worth noting that each loan category can be further expanded into wider selections.

Some of the loan refinancing offerings for students include:

1. Law and MBA refinancing
2. Parent Plus refinancing
3. Medical professional refinancing

And more.

Here is how the sub-categories look in terms of SoFi’s offerings:

Investing Support

As a financial ecosystem, SoFi bank offers an extensive array of investing options. As a self-directed trader, you can choose from the active investing suite. In that case, you enjoy zero commissions and get exposure to a learned and experienced community.

As an active investor, you also get access to a margin of 10% and even get up to $1000 worth of stocks, in case you fund the account.

Here is a quick selection of the SoFi Bank-specific stock options:

Then there is automated investing, courtesy of the robo investor. To use the same, you simply need to ascertain and declare the risk tolerance, set aside capital, and let the robo take care of the rest.

Besides the mentioned offerings, SoFi Bank also lets you invest in ETFs, IRAs, fractional shares, and IPOs.

If you wish to specifically invest in SoFi ETFs — Select 500, Next 500, and other options, here are a few picks to choose from:

SoFi Bank and its features

SoFi also allows you to trade and invest in crypto. At present, there are two coins that can be accessed and traded directly using the web interface or the mobile app (s).

Also, SoFi supports all the major Option contracts, synonymous with the top companies like

1. Apple Inc. (AAPL)
2. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
3. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)
4. Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)
5. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)
6. Facebook, Inc. (FB)
7. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A)
8. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)
9. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
10. The Walt Disney Company (DIS)

Banking Suite

SoFi Bank is a financial institution at heart, boasting the widest possible selection of banking products. These include a savings account, checking account, and access to credit cards. For the savings account, you can get up to 4.60% APY on the idle funds — 10x more than the national average.

Insurance and Business Solutions

SoFi Bank also excels when it comes to offering insurance-related products. The company offers a wide range of products, including insurance options related to renters, homeowners, auto, life, and more.

Plus, there are business solutions on offer in the form of lending options and diverse employee benefits solutions.

Financial Tools

In addition to the mentioned instruments, SoFi Bank also makes room for a diverse array of financial tools. These include property tracking tools, credit score evaluating resources, investment trackers, loan calculators, and more.

SoFi Bank and the Associated Fees

If the SoFi Bank features look desirable enough, the fee structure is next to consider. Firstly, the Bank takes pride in pushing the fee-free narrative forward. However, this holds for checking and savings accounts, where you, the user, don’t need to pay any account fee.

In case you open a checking or savings account, SoFi doesn’t even levy other charges like minimum account fees, overdraft fees, and ATM fees.

Unlike other banks, which charge hefty service charges, SoFi Bank ensures that the user doesn’t have to pay anything for card replacement, legal processing, and other add-on services.

One interesting aspect of SoFi’s fee structure is the overdraft coverage of 50 bucks on standard debit card usage for customers who deposit $1,000 per month or more. However, all these competitive fee structures might change, as mentioned by the company in the fine print.

SoFi Limits Explored

Well, SoFi’s ultra-competitive fee structure does make it a highly rewarding online bank. But before you move ahead with account creation, it might just be the time to explore some key limits and touchpoints.

For instance, if you plan on depositing funds into SoFi, either for trading, investing, or maintaining an account, there is no upper limit on the amount you can push in. As for the minimum deposit limit, you can start as low as $1.

Regarding withdrawals, SoFi Bank doesn’t impose any known limits. You can initiate numerous transfers and fund withdrawals, depending on your instrument. For instance, if you are looking at ATM withdrawals, the daily limit is $1,000.

In case you wish to use the SoFi Bank debit card, the maximum daily limit is set at $6,000.

Another limit that you need to focus on while using SoFi Bank is the investing or trading limit. Per this limit, you can use $50,000 as the daily deposit limit for instantly unlocking the trading and investing options.

Also, the lot size, or the minimum order limit for trades, depends on the asset. For instance, if you are dealing in crypto, you can purchase coins worth $1 to $10, as the minimum limit.

The trading ceiling, in this case, is set at $100,000.

Convinced already! Wait before you take a closer look at all the related payment methods.

• ACH transfers
• Wire transfers
• Credit and Debit cards
• Paper Check

And finally, you should note that SoFi only supports USD payments when it comes to fiat currencies.

Security Posture and State of Customer Support

Finally, before I conclude this piece, it is crucial to explore the security implementations put in place by SoFi Bank. This online bank brings in the following security standards to protect user funds and data:

1. Human verification
2. Two-factor authentication
3. 24×7 fraud monitoring
4. Real-time alerts
5. Enhanced regulatory compliance

SoFi Bank and user funds

User funds on SoFi are FDIC-insured, up to $2 million. Helping SoFi in this regard are the associated partner banks in Bell Bank, Centennial Bank, and many more.

When it comes to the customer support system, SoFi is one of the more credible financial institutions around. Here are the support pillars it takes pride in offering:

1. Phone support with real representatives handling your concerns
2. Help center
3. Live chat support
4. Email support for raising detailed tickets

SoFi Bank also has a high TrustPilot score of 4.7, which furthers its credibility as an online financial institution.

Is SoFi the Right Online Bank for You?

If you want a seamless trading and investing experience, all while having access to numerous financial instruments and offerings, SoFi Bank is the right platform for you. Plus, this financial institution also helps you generate a decent APY on idle lying funds, making banking way more productive for you.